Sustainable resources are something that’s been sort of overdone in places like Facebook and other social media. This week I would like to cover wind and hydropower along with their underlying technology and anything new in the industry.We’ll cover a variety of topics such as the mechanisms behind these two, different types of hydropower and wind power, and public opinion. I hope I blow you away.

The energy from wind turbines is formed from the mechanical energy which can be broken down into the combination of both kinetic and potential energy. Inside of a wind turbine, we can see the shaft and the generator of the turbine. When the blades on the outside spin down the shaft, this kinetic energy is turned into mechanical energy by the generator via the difference in electrical charge to make an alternating current used in most machines and homes.

There are two main types of wind turbines that are being used today and hopefully in the future. Both are named because of their axis and can come in many different designs.There is the horizontal turbine and the vertical turbine. Some positive aspects of horizontal turbines include, but are not limited to, varied blade shape, the ability to increase height, and the ability of the blades to convert every movement to energy. One main disadvantage is blades backtracking due to wind direction lowering efficiency.

There is also the increased effort for installation and transportation because of the numerous parts. The positive of vertical turbines are fewer components, ability to scale down and remain efficient, and safety for the employees when performing maintenance. The main disadvantages are not all movement is converted to energy, scaling up is an obstacle due to the less sturdy design, and increased the amount of maintenance because of fewer parts.

Proper circumstances for wind farms to operate efficiently is a huge expansion of land and community support for renewable energy. A few main locations for wind turbines includes most midwest areas while there has been a small show of support for offshore wind turbines. In July 2016, construction went underway in Rhode Island for 5 turbines offshore. New Jersey islanders are hesitant on the offshore wind turbine issue due to the few rule set in place that may lead to New Jersey customer’s not receiving the economic benefits if they’re built at all.

Moving onward, hydropower has been established as a power source in the United States since the Niagara Falls Tesla project back in 1895. From then on we’ve changed river flows over time and have amassed above 90,000 dams throughout the US. The production of electricity from a dam is relatively simple. Dams are built to increase the amount of river’s elevation in a reservoir. This reservoir feeds into a penstock through an intake area. The rushing water spins the turbine inside. Then this water is released back into the river that the dam has disrupted. Unfortunately, most of these dams have started to become a looming threat due to their growing age and the risk of them breaking increases. Costs to fix just one are incredibly high and it’s being debated as to if we should or shouldn't fix them at all.

Another type of hydropower that is showing some promise is known as run-of-the-river hydropower. Run-of-the-river operates just as it sounds, water is taken away from the river and runs through a tunnel with turbines inside and then sent through a filter. After that, the water is deposited downstream by a series of pipes. There’s no disruption to the flow and this type of hydropower is considered to be more effective and reliable than solar panels at generating energy. On issue to be considered is any life in the water but rules are set in place regarding permits to construct these before anything begins.

To conclude, renewable energy is something that will continue to grow over time. The increased awareness of our impact on the planet will foster more ideas for green energy.

Article Sources

https://www.horizoncurriculum.com/supportmaterial/parts-of-a-wind-turbine/

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/press/atlantic_city/windmills-off-atlantic-city-for-power-not-likely-soon-exec/article_1f9f1846-1e32-11e6-b5f2-5bb4479c2b31.html

https://www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=191

http://www.teslasociety.com/exhibition.htm

https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/cat-item/dams/

https://water.usgs.gov/edu/hyhowworks.html